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Shipping & Maritime in India

According to the Ministry of Shipping, around 95 per cent of India's trading by volume and 70 per cent by value is done through maritime transport. India has 12 major and 187 non-major ports. Cargo traffic, which recorded 1,052 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) in 2015, is expected to reach 1,758 MMT by 2017.

The Indian ports and shipping industry plays a vital role in sustaining growth in the country’s trade and commerce. India is the sixteenth largest maritime country in the world, with a coastline of about 7,517 km. The Indian Government plays an important role in supporting the ports sector. It has allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent under the automatic route for port and harbour construction and maintenance projects. It has also facilitated a 10-year tax holiday to enterprises that develop, maintain and operate ports, inland waterways and inland ports.

Some key developments in shipping sector:

The Indian Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari,announced a massive investment in India’s ports and roads sector, which islikely to help boost the country’s economy. The Indian government plans todevelop 10 coastal economic regions as part of plans to revive the country’s Sagarmala (string of ports) project.

The zones would be converted into manufacturing hubs, supported by portmodernisation projects, and could span 300–500 km of the coastline. The government is also looking to develop the inland waterway sector as analternative to road and rail routes to transport goods to the nation’s portsand hopes to attract private investment in the sector.

InlandWaterways Authority of India (IWAI) and India Ports Global Private Limited(IPGPL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for implementation of three additional works worth Rs 476 crore (US$ 70.56 million) in the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) in Myanmar

The India Ports Global Pvt Ltd plans to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in Iran with participation from private Iranian and Indian firms to develop andoperate the Chabahar port project, which is expected to give India a sea-landaccess route into Afghanistan through Iran’s eastern borders.

An expert panel of the Union Environment Ministry has recommended approvals for projects worth Rs 20,500 crore (US$ 3.04billion) in the aviation and port sectors.

Minister of Road Transport and Highways, and Shipping, Mr Nitin Gadkari is hopeful of bringing a 'blue revolution' in five years which will include developing eight major ports, making 27 industrial clusters, developing rail and roadconnectivity with ports and will entail investment of around Rs 400,000 crore (USD 59.3 billion)

Government of India plans to invest Rs 70,000 crore (US$ 10.38 billion) in 12 major portsin the next five years under 'Sagarmala' initiative.

Governmentof India is planning to set up low-cost non-major ports along coastline underthe Sagarmala project and has asked all the 12 major ports to accord priority berthing to such vessels and to encourage quicker movement of cargo.

The state-run Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) is expected to purchase fivevessels from the state-owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd. It is also likely to issue tenders to buy two used Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carriers as it looks tore-start ship purchases that were frozen after poor financial performance.